The Flying Dutchman (April 19, 2023) – The island of Marken has been inhabited since the thirteenth century. During this period, the island was owned by the Frisian monastery Mariëngaarde, who built dikes and a drainage system here. They also ensured that agriculture and livestock farming became possible here.

About a century later, the monks were expelled here by Count William the Fourth of Holland. After this, the island quickly impoverished, the islanders were forced to live on mounds to protect themselves against the water.

These mounds are known here as wharves, a number of these wharfs are still inhabited. The many floods made farming impossible and fishing became the island’s main source of income. This came to an end with the arrival of the Afsluitdijk.